The Grammar Stage
Historically, this first step in a child’s education was structured around the study of Latin grammar and, as a result, came to be known as the Grammar stage (corresponding to elementary school). The memorization of Latin vocabulary and grammatical forms trained the young student’s mind to encounter, assimilate, and retain large quantities of material in an organized and efficient manner. Schoolmasters and teachers were concerned that the students not only memorize Latin, but gain proficiency in memorization more generally – a skill that has fallen on hard times in our own century. History, science, math, and the study of God’s Word, were all beneficiaries of this rigorous intellectual training, for the tools of learning were easily applied in different academic disciplines. The memorization was never an end in itself, but a tool to be placed in the student’s intellectual arsenal for later use. Scripturally, we might say that this stage seeks to equip the students with knowledge (Proverbs 2:6).
